1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a device for delivering portions of uniform weight and/or volume of a pasty or doughy substance, in particular sausage meat or stuffing, the device comprising a housing having a supply and a discharge opening and a rotor fitting snugly within the housing and driven to rotate therein, which rotor has at least one pair of pistons, which are arranged radially displaceable within the rotor by supporting against a stationary controlling cam.
2. Description of Prior Art
A device of this type constructed as a supplementary apparatus is known from DE-PS No. 27 25 636. This device comprises conveying means which consist of a housing driven to rotate about a filling tube, in which housing there are two portioning chambers opposing each other diametrically. In each portioning chamber a piston is arranged to lie freely, which piston is supported by means of a roller on the inner surface of a controlling cam formed by a ring body. The controlling cam is arranged to be adjusted in its eccentricity with respect to the axis of the filling tube. The latter is interrupted by a separation wall effecting the separation of the filling tube into one part serving the supply and another part serving the discharge of the filling substance. Such filling substance fed under the pressure of the supply channel thus fills the portioning chamber connected to the supply channel, respectively, the contents of the portioning chamber then being delivered on the continuing rotation of the housing as a portion wholly or partially, depending on the set eccentricity through the discharge of the filling tube.
In this process the volume of the single portions can, at a maximum, only correspond to the volume of a portioning chamber obtainable when setting the maximum possible stroke of the eccentric. If smaller portions are handled it is disadvantageous that the portioning chambers are not emptied completely so that non-exchangeable remainder volumes of the filling substance remain in the portioning chambers.
A portioning device known from DE-AS No. 21 21 006 is limited in use in a similar manner and is disadvantageous with respect to its function. This device shows conveying means provided with a rotor having a double-effective stroke piston mounted to slide radially therein. This stroke piston is guided in a centre of rotation arranged eccentrically to the axis of rotation of the rotor by means of a sliding block guided in the stroke piston, the eccentricity being adjustable.
3. Object of the Invention
It is therefore a main object of the invention to suggest a portioning device having conveying means working according to the principle of a radial piston pump and being of compact structural size.
It is a further object of the invention to suggest a portioning device enabling the continuous production of equal portions of voluntary volume in a simple manner.
It is another important object of the invention to suggest a portioning device enabling the complete emptying of the portioning chambers.